Gunman named as Man Haron Monis - also known as Sheik Haron
Man Haron Monis - also known as Sheik Haron - has been named as the gunman holding up to 15 people hostage in a Sydney café and is believed to be an Islamic State preacher who is on bail for accessory to murder.
The 49-year-old man lives in southwest Sydney, but is originally from Iran and a self-proclaimed sheik, has previously accused the families of Australian dead soldiers of being murderers and also been charged with sexual assault, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Arriving as a refugee in Australia in 1996, the hostage taker was charged with accessory - both before and after the fact - for the murder of his ex-wife - who was allegedly stabbed and set on fire on a flight of stairs in her apartment building in Sydney.
The man's current partner was charged with murder but they both received bail as the case was deemed too weak.